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AP In this Friday, Sept. 16, 2017, file photo, an individual uses a smartphone in Chicago.

By Lindsey Tanner, Associated Press

Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017|11:54 a.m.

CHICAGO– An increase in suicide rates among U.S. teenagers happened at the exact same time social networks usage surged and a new analysis suggests there may be a link.

Suicide rates for teenagers increased in between 2010 and 2015 after they had actually decreased for nearly twenty years, inning accordance with data from the federal Centers for Illness Control and Prevention. Why the rates went up isn’t really understood.

The research study does not address the concern, but it suggests that a person factor could be rising social networks use. Recent teenager suicides have been blamed on cyberbullying, and social media posts illustrating “best” lives might be taking a toll on teenagers’ psychological health, scientists say.

“After hours of scrolling through Instagram feeds, I just feel even worse about myself since I feel neglected,” stated Caitlin Hearty, a 17-year-old Littleton, Colorado, high school elder who assisted arrange an offline project last month after a number of regional teen suicides.

“Nobody publishes the bad things they’re going through,” said Chloe Schilling, likewise 17, who helped with the project, in which hundreds of teenagers concurred not to utilize the internet or social networks for one month.

The study’s authors looked at CDC suicide reports from 2009-15 and outcomes of 2 studies provided to U.S. high school students to determine attitudes, habits and interests. About half a million teenagers ages 13 to 18 were involved. They were inquired about use of electronic gadgets, social media, print media, tv and time spent with good friends. Concerns about mood included frequency of sensation hopeless and thinking about or attempting suicide.

The scientists didn’t take a look at situations surrounding individual suicides. Dr. Christine Moutier, primary medical officer at the American Structure for Suicide Prevention, said the research study supplies weak proof for a popular theory which numerous factors affect teen suicide.

The study was published Tuesday in the journal Medical Psychological Science.

Data highlighted in the research study consist of:

— Teens’ usage of electronic gadgets consisting of smartphones for at least 5 hours daily more than doubled, from 8 percent in 2009 to 19 percent in 2015. These teenagers were 70 percent more likely to have self-destructive ideas or actions than those who reported one hour of day-to-day usage.

— In 2015, 36 percent of all teens reported sensation frantically sad or helpless, or thinking of, preparing or trying suicide, up from 32 percent in 2009. For girls, the rates were greater– 45 percent in 2015 versus 40 percent in 2009.

— In 2009, 58% of 12th grade women used social media every day or nearly every day; by 2015, 87% used social media every day or almost every day. They were 14% more likely to be depressed than those who utilized social media less regularly.

“We need to stop thinking about smartphones as harmless,” said study author Jean Twenge, a psychology teacher at San Diego State University who studies generational patterns. “There’s a tendency to state, ‘Oh, teenagers are just interacting with their friends.’ Keeping an eye on kids’ use of smart devices and social media is very important, therefore is setting affordable limits, she stated.

Dr. Victor Strasburger, a teen medication expert at the University of New Mexico, said the research study just indicates a connection between teenager suicides, anxiety and social networks. It reveals the need for more research study on new technology, Strasburger stated.

He kept in mind that doubters who believe social networks is being unfairly slammed compare it with so-called vices of past generations: “When dime-store books came out, when comics came out, when tv came out, when rock-and-roll initially began, people were stating ‘This is completion of the world.'”

With its immediacy, anonymity, and potential for bullying, social networks has a special potential for triggering real damage, he stated.

“Moms and dads do not truly get that,” Strasburger stated.

AP reporter P. Solomon Banda added to this story from Littleton, Colorado.